Maki Nibiyashi


There's more to Cambodian food than tasty entrees. If you really want to treat yourself, sample the sweet side of Cambodia through its desserts. These delightfully different snacks aren't your average vanilla ice cream or apple pie; instead, the flavors of coconut milk and rice dominate. A sampling:

Kuay Namuan
A sweet dessert where the coconut milk and sugar is simmered until it becomes creamy, then poured over the bananas while still piping hot.

Sticky Rice and Mango
Sliced mangos with some boiled sticky rice and a creamy sauce made from coconut milk and salt. It's more like an appetizer, but most people in Cambodia eat it as a snack.

Baked Coconut Rice Pudding
A delicious blend of rice, coconut milk, regular milk, lime rind and sugar. Baked, it gives a mouthwatering coconut aroma that will definitely make you come back for seconds. It can be eaten warm or chilled, topped with fresh or stewed fruit.

Banana Rice Pudding
Boiled in a pan with banana, fruit slices, water and a slight dusting of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Boua Loy
This is an unusual dessert made from glutinous rice flour, brown sugar, coconut milk and a bit of salt. First some dough is made from the rice flour. Then the dough is rolled into small balls, put into boiling water, drained and then transferred into boiling coconut milk. Some people like to add an egg for a little more taste, but the texture is quite different.

Pumpkin Pudding with Coconut Ice Cream
A very rich, but surprisingly not-too-sweet ordinary dessert eaten by Cambodians on a regular basis. The coconut ice cream adds just the right touch because without it, the pumpkin is a bit overwhelming once inside your mouth.

You can try this at a Cambodian restaurant in Takadanobaba called (what else?) Cambodia, open 11:30am-2pm, 5-11pm. Closed Sundays. Yoshino Bldg 2F, 3-10-14 Takada, Toshima-ku. 03-3209-9320. Nearest stn: Takadanobaba (main exit, turn left after passing Cozy Corner, walk a block and a half and it's on your left hand side).

Luna Delphian